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Observer status for the African Union at the WTO

17 Dec 2019 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
On 17 November 2019, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission (AUC), sent a letter to Ms Sunanta Kangvalkulkij, Chair of the General Council of the World Trade Organiz...read more

Services Are the New Economy

26 Oct 2019 ~ John Stuart
As the digitalisation of the global economy progresses, the value size of the services economy relative to the ‘real’ economy is steadily rising. Before computers and the internet, ser...read more

Africa’s Digital Connectivity Dividend in Waiting

26 Oct 2019 ~ John Stuart
“We have to be able to provide infrastructure and digital connectivity to the lowest common denominator at the most affordable price if we really want digital transformation to transform...read more

Creating a Single African Market on Trade in Services: Negotiating the Schedules of Specific Commitments under the Protocol on Trade in Services

26 Oct 2019 ~ Beatrice Chaytor
Introduction The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is an economic game-changer for Africa. A major aim of this ambitious effort is the expansion of intra-African trade by lower...read more

AfCFTA Trade in Services – A general guide and issues for negotiations on Mutual Recognition Agreements

26 Oct 2019 ~ Viola Sawere
Business services sector, which include professional services, has been prioritised under the ongoing negotiations on schedules of specific commitments in the context of the African Contin...read more

The AfCFTA Approach to Mutual Recognition

26 Oct 2019 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
For the liberalization of trade service to materialize to the extent that service suppliers can reap the associated benefits in the sectors recognized under the AfCFTA, there should be arr...read more

Cooperation on financial regulation under the AfCFTA: Where should member-states focus their efforts?

26 Oct 2019 ~ Ashly Hope (Volunteer)
The Modalities and Guidelines adopted for services sector negotiations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are unlikely to lead to significant increases in financial ser...read more

What is the AfCFTA Approach to the Regulation of Trade in Services?

26 Oct 2019 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services is a first endeavour to liberalize intra-African trade in services. For several States the task at hand is a novel one.  It involves deeper go...read more

How Similar are Africa’s Exporters? Implications for the AfCFTA

16 Oct 2019 ~ John Stuart
Africa is a continent of great diversity, perhaps more so than any other of the continents. It is a continent richly endowed with resources and these endowments have long formed the basis ...read more

How Similar are Africa’s Trade Regimes? Implications for the AfCFTA

16 Oct 2019 ~ John Stuart
The regional grouping of Africa – both its continental and island states – is a large and diversified bloc of countries. Within this region are multiple regional economic communities (...read more

South Africa’s submission on UNCITRAL ISDS reforms: Comments and implications

16 Oct 2019 ~ Talkmore Chidede
Introduction Investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) has in recent years been criticised for its systematic imbalances, as well as inconsistent, flawed and excessive arbitral awards, amo...read more

The United Kingdom Supreme Court annuls the suspension of Parliament: What are the implications for Brexit?

07 Oct 2019 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Brexit has rewritten many of the rules of the game for British politics and constitutional law. It has just added another chapter of major importance to this saga. On 24 September 2019, th...read more

The Institutions of the African Continental Free Trade Area

13 Sep 2019 ~
Free Trade Areas (FTAs) need institutions to oversee, promote and monitor the implementation of obligations by the State Parties. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) esta...read more

Implementing Trade Agreements: The Role of National Institutions and Administrative Law

13 Sep 2019 ~
Trade and regional integration agreements must be implemented by the State Parties in order to make a difference. Who performs this function and what is the legal basis for the domestic im...read more

South Africa withdraws its Signature from the Decision to abolish the SADC Tribunal

13 Sep 2019 ~
Changes to institutional arrangements can happen in unexpected ways and as a result of governments’ new policies. The correct procedure is to follow the formal procedures for adopting am...read more

The Bretton Woods System at 75

13 Sep 2019 ~
Seventy five years ago, in July 1944, while World War II was still raging, delegates from all 44 Allied nations gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in the United States, for the Unit...read more

The Institutional Implications of Article 19 of the AfCFTA – where do the Regional Economic Communities fit in?

13 Sep 2019 ~
Article 19(2) of the AfCFTA Agreement provides that “State Parties that are members of other regional economic communities, regional trading arrangements and custom unions, which have at...read more

The SACU Institutions that never were

13 Sep 2019 ~
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is a customs union (CU) and is in operation since 1910. It has a single customs territory and a Common External Tariff (CET). SACU is also an Inte...read more

What is happening to the WTO?

13 Sep 2019 ~
Freedom of trade and equal market access were central to the plans for reconstructing the post World War II international order. International peace had to be secured through, amongst othe...read more

The Institutional Arrangements of the Tripartite Free Trade Area

13 Sep 2019 ~
To a large extent, the launch of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) in June 2015 ushered in a new institutional approach towards intra-African trade and integration.[1] ...read more
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